I have a degree in English. I know, I know, that’s why I’m unemployed.
Reading used to be my life. I read everything. I love Haruki Murakami and Richard Yates more than I love myself.
But lately, because of Abilify I believe, I can’t read. It’s like a mental block. My mind wanders, the words blur, I read and can’t remember the last sentence and finally either fall asleep or get so upset I throw the book.
When I was hospitalized for bipolar I had the same thing happen. They told me to read something I was familiar with to ease back in to it. So I chose the Bell Jar, my favorite book. Not the best decision. I made the doctors nervous when I said I didn’t really think there was anything wrong with Esther and didn’t know why she made such a fuss.
But now, I can’t even read something I like. The words jump off the pages. It’s so frustrating. I want to read, everyone I know reads and wants to discuss books, and it leaves me with knitting and cross stitch to keep my mind busy. My brain is getting soft. Reality TV could have something to do with it. How will I find a job if I can’t understand process documentation?
So, I’m giving it a chance. I’ve got my new Beats on that I got for my birthday and I’m going to try to listen to a book. It feels wrong, like I’m not using the right part of my brain. But I’ve got to start somewhere.
Thanks, anti-psychotics.
Bipolar Bajillionaire 
I too had an identical problem with reading while on Ability. I stopped taking it and that helped a bit. Now I’ve just been put on Olanzapine and the problem is back much worse. I’ve just wrote a blog post about my vision problems on Olanzapine.
Hope you manage to read again soon.
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I’m thinking of stopping it but I’m afraid of other antipsychotics. I’ve had bad experiences with Lamictal and just about every other drug. Sorry about your vision. It sounds like you’re having ocular migraines, which I had to stop Lamictal for and I know they are the woooorst.
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